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A gifted Shibumi shade was exactly what James Smith needed for his beach trips.

Smith, a North Carolina resident who frequents his condo in the city of Myrtle Beach, said he needs to avoid direct sunlight because of a skin condition, but still wants to enjoy the perks of the beach.

鈥淚 do it for medical needs to increase my shade and it keeps me from having to do full-body sunscreen, which now they鈥檙e saying that鈥檚 not good for you,鈥� Smith said.

When he first got to the beach to set up his newly gifted Shibumi, he was disappointed to learn he couldn鈥檛 use it on the beach in city limits, and that he could only use an umbrella. A lifeguard approached him and told him he needed to take it down.

The shade devices are not allowed on beaches during the height of the summer season in Myrtle Beach and North Myrtle Beach, and year round in unincorporated Horry County. But that may change for some parts of the Grand Strand beaches.

The Horry County Council will soon take a look at allowing some types of wind shades, called Shibumi Beach Shades, on county beaches 鈥� something area law enforcement agencies have been hesitant about. The topic will be on the county council agenda Tuesday, March 18.

While some county leaders and staff members are against the shade devices, it鈥檚 possible a trial period could happen.聽

Shibumi beach shades are made from a curved metal rod that anchors into the sand with a light curtain attached. The shade blows in the wind to provide shade.

鈥淭he Shibumi shade is a wind-driven shading device. It鈥檚 a single arch attached to fabric that is held up by the ocean breeze,鈥� Shibumi cofounder Dane Barnes said.

According to the business鈥� website, not much wind is needed at all, with only 2-3 mph of breeze required to extend the shade.

Shibumi beach shades are allowed on every beach in the United States except Myrtle Beach and North Myrtle Beach, between Labor Day and Memorial Day; Horry County year round; two beaches in Delaware and three beach towns in New Jersey, the Shibumi website claims.

The cities of North Myrtle Beach and Myrtle Beach have similar regulations, allowing the devices during offseason but not during the peak summer tourist season. Neither cities are actively considering changing the ordinances, according to public information officers with the municipalities, though Myrtle Beach has in recent months discussed the shades.

鈥淎t this time, the City of North Myrtle Beach is not considering any changes to its beach shade regulations during peak season. Our current policy, which allows only umbrellas from May 15 through Labor Day, is in place primarily for public safety reasons,鈥� said North Myrtle Beach spokesperson Lauren Jessie.

Myrtle Beach spokesperson Meredith Denari said the city鈥檚 position has not changed since the matter was discussed in depth at a November city council workshop meeting.

Myrtle Beach only allows umbrellas from Labor Day to Memorial Day. The city passed an ordinance prohibiting the use of tents and wind shades during peak season in 2014. The Shibumi was invented in 2016 and has gained popularity up and down the coast.

Just across the state border, Shibumi shades have multiplied in Ocean Isle Beach since the town altered its tent ordinance to allow Shibumis in 2021.

鈥淭hey鈥檙e very popular with vacationers and with homeowners,鈥� Mayor Debbie Smith said. 鈥淲e try to be sensitive to the needs for shade out there, but we also have to be sensitive to the ability for rescue and beach patrol vehicles to maneuver and get around, so we do have to be sensitive to that as well. We had some issues with that when we had those four-legged tents or cabanas out there.鈥�

Safety concerns

Myrtle Beach Police Department beach patrol supervisor Kevin Larke said Shibumis cause visual obstructions on the beach that can be hazardous.

鈥淭here have been times when they鈥檝e made it hard to see vehicles on the beach,鈥澛燣arke told the Horry County Administration Committee in February.

Larke explained to the committee the struggles beach patrol faces in regard to Shibumi shades.

鈥淭hey are very obstructive. They take up a lot of room,鈥� Larke told Horry County鈥檚 administration committee. 鈥�...We have pictures that I took from the shoreline of a Shibumi blocking out an entire pickup truck that was down by the water edge. It just makes it very hard to see the water. It鈥檚 a public safety issue.鈥�

Line of sight is one of the biggest concerns the city has, Myrtle Beach assistant city manager Josh Bruegger reiterated.

That鈥檚 also a concern in North Myrtle Beach.

鈥淭he primary concern is maintaining clear sightlines for our lifeguards,鈥� said Jessie, the city鈥檚 spokesperson. 鈥淯nrestricted visibility is crucial for ensuring the safety of all beachgoers, as it allows lifeguards to quickly identify and respond to swimmers in distress. Additionally, larger shade structures can create obstacles for emergency personnel responding to incidents on the beach. Whether it鈥檚 lifeguards rushing to assist a swimmer in distress or emergency vehicles needing access to certain areas, excessive shade structures can slow response times and hinder critical rescue efforts.鈥�

Ocean Isle Beach mayor said she hasn鈥檛 heard any complaints from first responders about Shibumi shades, but that the town does not have lifeguards on duty and has less tourists than on the Grand Strand.

鈥淚 have not heard our beach patrol or rescue say anything about it interfering with their visibility, but now we don鈥檛 have lifeguards on lifeguard stands either,鈥� Mayor Smith said. 鈥淥f course we鈥檙e smaller than you are. We don鈥檛 have as much beach size and length as you do. We鈥檙e limited to about 6.5 miles. That鈥檚 not as much to patrol, but I haven't had any beach patrol or rescue personnel talk about interference with line of sight.鈥�

Bruegger explained during a Myrtle Beach city council workshop meeting in the fall that Grand Strand beaches are 鈥渘ot particularly wide or large, so when you have larger shading devices, they do take up a lot of room.鈥�

Shibumi representatives spoke at the workshop meeting, where they made a presentation requesting for their product to be allowed in Myrtle Beach during the summer months.

Barnes said there are four main reasons to allow Shibumi Shades on Grand Strand beaches.

鈥淣umber one, it improves safety. Number two, it has strong public safety support from Maryland to Mexico. Number three, your Myrtle Beach constituents want Shibumi Shades. And number four, it protects personal freedom,鈥� Barnes said.

North Myrtle Beach allows umbrellas on the beach, as long as they are nine feet in diameter or less, from May 15 until Labor Day. Tents, cabanas and other shade devices mounted on supports are not allowed during the same time period.

North Myrtle Beach has not had discussions about changing the city鈥檚 ordinance. After Labor Day, shading restrictions are lifted. The space umbrellas, tents and other shading devices take up is a concern for North Myrtle Beach as it is in Myrtle Beach.

鈥淎nother important consideration is crowd management. During peak season, the beach is heavily populated, and larger shade structures can create congestion, making it more difficult for people to move safely along the shore,鈥� Jessie said.

In Myrtle Beach, the conversation about wind-driven shade devices is not new.

Steve Taylor, Myrtle Beach鈥檚 Beach Advisory Committee chairman,聽said the city鈥檚 ordinance does not single out any company and the committee made its recommendation for the ordinance in 2014 because of safety concerns.

鈥淭he shading ordinance, as [Bruegger] described, was done because we had a proliferation of tents and large shading devices that were gobbling up the beach and creating safety hazards,鈥� Taylor said. 鈥�...The wind-driven shading device issue has come before our committee probably five times in the last four years, and we鈥檝e listened every time鈥� We鈥檝e put the work in on this issue, and each time, our committee has voted to not change the ordinance and to keep it as it is. We believe it provides a safer, better beach experience for the whole beach.鈥�

During the county's recent committee meeting, county councilman Gary Loftus asked if MBPD鈥檚 Larke favored beach umbrellas over the Shibumi shades.

鈥淯mbrellas don鈥檛 fly around as much as people say they do,鈥� Larke said. 鈥淚t would be hard to explain why we allow the wind shades and not the canopy tents.鈥�

Beach umbrellas made headlines after a woman was impaled and died after an umbrella took flight in a gust of wind in 2022 in Garden City.

Shibumi owners argue that Shibumi shades are safer than umbrellas as they will not blow away when winds pick up.

鈥淲e have tested the Shibumi Shade in a NASCAR wind tunnel in tropical storm force winds and they did not blow away,鈥� Barnes said. 鈥淭he safety record of umbrellas versus Shibumi Shades is crystal clear.鈥�

James Smith said in case of an emergency, his Shibumi shade is much simpler and quicker to move out of the way than an umbrella. He said he puts two umbrellas out to get the same shade coverage for he and his wife than a single Shibumi provides.聽He said he thinks it's 鈥渁bsolutely ridiculous鈥� that he can't use his Shibumi shade.

鈥淸Umbrellas] are anchored 12 to 18 inches in the ground to withstand the wind,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd in an emergency situation, if I had to remove those umbrellas, it would take me a whole lot longer to remove those umbrellas than it would that Shibumi. I can lay the whole thing down in a matter of like two seconds. It's just a matter of grabbing the sandbag and throwing it backwards.鈥�

Taylor said the argument that umbrellas are dangerous and Shibumis are a safer alternative is flawed.

鈥淚f we banned umbrellas, we would be the only beach in the world that had a ban on umbrellas. I don鈥檛 think that鈥檚 what we鈥檙e here to do,鈥� Taylor said. 鈥淏ut the chances of getting hurt by an umbrella on the beach are far less than having something tragic happen in the ocean. And anything that blocks or prohibits our staff and our police department and our lifeguards from being able to protect people in the ocean is first and foremost.鈥�

Barnes said the wind shade is an important accessory for beachgoers because it protects residents and visitors from harmful UV rays, preventing skin cancer.

What's next?

Randy Webster, Horry County assistant administrator for public safety,聽said he was against them two years ago and his position hasn鈥檛 changed, though he didn鈥檛 have an issue with a trial period.

Committee chairman Danny Hardee said the issue has arisen again because Surfside Beach allows them and beachgoers on adjoining county beaches don鈥檛 understand why they can鈥檛 have them. Loftus said an endorsement from Surfside Beach doesn鈥檛 carry much weight.

鈥淭hey can鈥檛 even get their alcohol issue on the pier straight,鈥� he said.

County attorney David Jordan told Horry County Council鈥檚 administration committee that a proposed amendment to allow the wind-driven shades would be for one year and the county council could revisit it if it鈥檚 not working.

The county admin committee voted to send the amendment to the full council without any recommendation for its passage.聽The amendment has not yet been presented at county council.